When Qi Baishi was 93 years old, a friend begged him to paint. Because the pen fee was too low, Qi Baishi only sketched it briefly and drew a three-petal salted duck egg for others.
What everyone didn't expect was that the painting was sold for a high price of 517,500 in the end.
As a famous calligrapher and painter in modern China, Qi Baishi's artistic attainments can be described as unfathomable.
As for Qi Baishi's paintings, they can be said to be quite valuable.
It may be difficult to imagine that Qi Baishi, an old artist, actually has a little "slamming the door" on his body.
In other words, Qi Baishi has to clearly mark the price of his works. Even if someone close to him asks him to paint, Qi Baishi has to charge a certain fee.
For a long time, Qi Baishi has relied on his own paintings to make a name for himself, and he has relied on his own "door-picking".
What's even more exaggerated is that some people even say that Qi Baishi even reuses the refreshments he entertains guests.
Qi Baishi has his own set of rules for painting others, that is, how much money is used to do as much as possible.
Over the years, Qi Baishi has kept this rule and never made concessions to anyone.
When Qi Baishi was 93 years old, a very close friend came to him to paint. Maybe it's because the relationship between the two people is too good, so this friend didn't give too high a fee.
And in the face of his friends for many years, Qi Baishi didn't have much to say.
However, as we said earlier, Qi Baishi has always done as much as he wanted.
Even if he is facing his own friends, Qi Baishi will definitely not break this rule.
Thinking of the fee given by this friend, Qi Baishi seemed to weigh it in his heart. Anyway, his friend didn't have any requirements for this painting, so Qi Baishi decided to paint a simple salted duck egg for him.
Then, Qi Baishi picked up the pen and began to paint, and after a while, he sketched a rough outline.
After sketching out the general shape, Qi Baishi began to fill the salted duck eggs.
Not to mention that Qi Baishi is a genius in painting, the three-petal lifelike salted duck eggs were quickly printed on paper.
It didn't take long for the painting of salted duck eggs to be completed.
Looking at this painting, Qi Baishi himself felt satisfied, after all, his painting skills were impeccable. Besides, the painting is fully worth the price.
Immediately afterward, Qi Baishi contacted the friend and asked him to come over and pick up the painting.
When my friend received a call from Qi Baishi, he was also taken aback, he didn't expect his painting to be completed so quickly.
"It seems that Qi Lao must attach great importance to me as a friend! Draw it for me so quickly! This friend is still secretly happy in his heart. What he didn't know was that the painting was completed so quickly simply because it was so simple to paint.
According to the agreed time, this friend came to Qi Baishi's place as scheduled, not to mention how much he was looking forward to it.
But when he got the painting, he was a little disappointed in his heart, because the painting was so simple! There are only a few strokes.
"Why is there only one egg!" Friends were unwilling and clamored for Qi Baishi to add a few more strokes to him.
"It's so simple! You can draw me some more! The friend said to Qi Lao.
Maybe he felt that this painting was really a little sloppy, but Qi Baishi didn't shirk it.
"Gotta get it." Qi Baishi said and took the painting handed over by his friend.
I saw that Qi Baishi just picked up the pen, clicked on the paper a few times, and then put it down. Qi Baishi's eyes gestured to his friend, meaning that he had finished drawing.
"So fast?" The friend couldn't believe it, and walked forward in disbelief, only to see an extra fly next to the three-petaled salted duck egg.
Although there are only a few strokes, it is clear that this is a fly, and even the small wings have it.
Looking at this lifelike fly, this friend simply couldn't laugh or cry.
Some people say that Qi Baishi deliberately drew this fly because he had anger in his heart.
Some people also said that Qi Baishi was not such a "stingy" person, and just thought that it would be better to add this fly.
Either way, there's nothing wrong with drawing the fly.
I have to admit that Qi Baishi's fly is really well drawn, enough to play a "finishing touch" role.
Originally, there were only three salted duck eggs, and the painting seemed a bit monotonous. It's strange that just one more fly can make this painting so much more alive.
Although there are only a few brushstrokes in the whole painting, there is no lack of vividness and interest.
In the eyes of everyone, this kind of vividness and interest is the most attractive thing about a painting. Such a small fly gives the originally static painting a dynamic beauty.
At an auction in 2007, this "salted duck egg and fly" was sold for a high price of 517,500 yuan.
And the reason why this painting was photographed at such a high price is almost entirely due to the fly.
In short, it is this fly that makes this painting lively enough.
Perhaps Qi Baishi himself could not have imagined that this fly could have such an effect.
As a well-known people's artist in China, Qi Baishi's attainments in this area cannot be questioned by anyone.
Reference: The Complete Biography of Qi Baishi
